Nintendo GameCube: Ready for European Lift-off.

Distributed by
NintendoPosted: March 11th, 2002. YEAR OF THE CUBE TO BE SUPPORTED BY 100 MILLION EURO SPEND

Nintendo, the world’s leading video games company, this month fires the startinggun for the launch of its next generation home console, Nintendo GameCube. The100 million Euro pan-European marketing campaign will commence in March,paving the way for the launch of the Nintendo GameCube in Europe on May 3.

Nintendo GameCube will be the only console dedicated to playing video games.And that promise will be matched by delivering the largest range of softwaretitles ever seen for a platform launch. TWENTY software titles will be availablefrom day one, with FIFTY titles available on Nintendo GameCube by summer.

An integrated, pan-European marketing campaign has been constructed in whatwill be Nintendo’s eighth console launch spanning three decades. The campaignembodies everything Nintendo stands for – a company dedicated solely to thebusiness of entertaining all those who love interactive gaming. NintendoGameCube will target everyone from every walk of life who loves playing games -no matter their age. Nintendo believes that gaming is an attitude not an age -and Nintendo’s attitude to gaming is reflected in its Nintendo GameCubesignature endline – “Life’s a game.”

Running across 17 countries, the campaign incorporates advertising through TV,cinema, outdoor, press and a high in-store presence. Nintendo will also embarkon bespoke campaigns through new media, sampling, PR and ambient activity.

Nintendo GameCube is targeted at anyone who loves playing great games – agedeight to eighty. This promise is supported by a range of software titles thatspans football, traditional and extreme sports, action, fantasy, racing, andof course Nintendo’s own exclusive cast of characters such as Luigi and Mario.Day one will also see the arrival of two first party titles, Luigi’s Mansionand WaveRace: Blue Storm, both exclusive to Nintendo GameCube, plusanother eighteen 3rd party titles including Star Wars Rogue Leader RogueSquadron II from LucasArts and 2002 FIFA World Cup from EA SPORTS.

And later on in 2002, the Resident Evil series from Capcom will alsocome exclusively to Nintendo GameCube.

What’s more, Nintendo uniquely has three million people across Europe who havealready taken the first step to buying Nintendo GameCube – that is the ownersof Nintendo’s handheld console, Game Boy Advance. Game Boy Advance, launchedin June 2001, brings connectivity with Nintendo GameCube. This connectivity isfirst demonstrated on Sega’s Sonic Adventure 2 Battle – available onNintendo GameCube from May 3 – and Sonic Advance on Game Boy Advance.Nintendo’s promise of Gaming 24:7 offers continuous gameplay, whenever orwherever you want it.

Expected to retail at 249 Euros, Nintendo’s GameCube will retail at nearlyhalf the price of Xbox, and some 50 Euros cheaper than Playstation 2. Softwaretitles – including the many titles exclusive to Nintendo GameCube – areexpected to retail at around 60 Euros.

Advertising

In an edgy, highly engaging and often surreal campaign, Nintendo’s new TV andcinema advertising dramatises the immersive nature of gaming on NintendoGameCube.

A glass cube dominates each of the seven executions, showing the blurred linebetween reality and the escapist fantasy of the gaming world experiencedthrough the Nintendo GameCube. Each ad focuses on different elements from thevast range of games available on Nintendo GameCube. These include Luigi’sMansion, Super Smash Bros. Melee, WaveRace: Blue Storm, Star Wars Rogue LeaderRogue Squadron II, Pikmin and NBA Courtside 2002.

The ads finish with Nintendo GameCube’s signature endline, “Life’s a Game”.This picks up on the shared attitude and ambition that both gamers and greatgame creators share – taking inspiration from around them and amplifying itinto great entertainment.

The theme of the TV advertising is taken through into outdoor and pressexecutions, again under the “Life’s a game” banner.

The campaign was developed by the global advertising agency, Leo Burnett andbreaks on screens across Europe from mid-March. The TV campaign was directedby Erick Ifergan, the international award-winning US director, and was shot onlocation in Rome and post produced in Paris.

Media

The campaign will not only be impactful amongst Nintendo’s core target groups,but also highly visible in the general lifestyle and consumer media. The mediaplanning – lead by Starcom Motive in London – will see a heavy investment inabove the line. However, this heavy investment will be matched by creativemedia buying in areas such as SMS and ambient activity, at both a local andpan-European level, plus exclusive partnerships with high profile lifestylebrands such as MTV and Yahoo. And with over 4 million interactive CDRoms beingdistributed across Europe, Nintendo GameCube will touch the video gameconsumer wherever he or she goes, in the obvious and less obvious areas of life.

Cube Clubs & PR

Prior to launch, Nintendo embarks on a mammoth 42-date, 28-city European tour.The Cube Club Tour will see the full breadth and range of games available onthe Nintendo GameCube showcased in these unique events, taking place fromearly March up until launch. This is a club night with a big difference.

Each Cube Club will have 50 playable Nintendo GameCubes with over 15 softwaretitles including the exclusive launch titles Luigi’s Mansion, WaveRace: BlueStorm and Star Wars Rogue Leader Rogue Squadron II, plus a chance to trypost-launch games like NBA Courtside 2002, Pikmin and Eternal Darkness.Not only that but the Cube Clubs will offer unique interactive attractions,DJ’s and more – making the Cube Club the event not to be missed.

The operation, co-ordinated by Cake in London, will take in European citiesfrom as far north as Glasgow in the UK to as far south at Seville in Spain.

Underpinning the entire marketing campaign will be a heavyweight PR campaign,active since the launch of Game Boy Advance, that highlights Nintendo GameCube’sunique points of difference and broaden Nintendo’s appeal to a wider audience.

Online